Apparatus for packaging tow into cartons

ABSTRACT

In an apparatus for packaging tow into cartons in which tow is fed from a spout reciprocating in a first plane into a carton reciprocating in a second plane at right angles to the first plane, there is provided a filler sleeve to facilitate the filling of the cartons. The filler sleeve fits over the top of the carton and has four sides which are adapted to form a vertical extension of the four sides of the carton. The filler sleeve has a flexible locating means adapted to hold the filler sleeve to the carton while the carton reciprocates. The filler sleeve has its own support means so that it may be moved either dependently or independently of the carton. At least one side of the filler sleeve may be opened by a means designed to keep the side in the opened or closed position.

[451 `lune 19, 1973 [54] APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING TOW INTO CARTONS [75]Inventor: Joseph Thomas ONeill, Gananoque,

Ontario, Canada [73] Assignee: Du Pont of Canada Limited,

Montreal, Quebec, Canada [221 Filed: Nov. z3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.;201,425

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 3,605,378 10/1971 Read PrimaryExaminer-Travis S. McGehee Attorney-Howard P. West, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT ln an apparatus for packaging tow into cartons in whichtow is fed from a spout reciprocating in a first plane into a cartonreciprocating in a second plane at right angles to the first plane,there is provided a t'lller sleeve to facilitate the filling of thecartons. The filler sleeve fits over the top of the carton and has foursides which are adapted to form a vertical extension of the four sidesof the carton. The filler sleeve has a flexible locating means adaptedto hold the t'illler sleeve to the carton while the carton reciprocates.The filler sleeve has its own support means so that it may be movedeither dependently or independently of the carton. At least one side ofthe filler sleeve may be opened by a means designed to keep the side inthe opened or closed position.

6 Claims, l Drawing Figure APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING TOW INTO CARTONSBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus forpackaging tow into cartons and more particularly, to a novel fillersleeve or adapter useful in the process of filling a carton with a towand compressing the tow in the carton.

Synthetic fibers are frequently produced in the form of a tow whichcontains a large number of individual continuous filaments or fibersarranged in a single strand or rope. A tow is generally packaged in `acarton in which form it may be stored or shipped for further processing.There are a number of well known methods for packaging a tow. ln onesuch method, tow is fed through a spout which reciprocates backwards andforwards in one plane. The tow is laid in a carton which in turnreciprocates in a plane perpendicular to the movement of the spout. Themovement of the spout and the movement of the carton are co-ordinated sothat a tow is laid in a predetermined pattern to fill the carton'. Toobtain the maximum capacity of a carton, it is necessary that the tow becompressed after the carton has been filled. This is achieved bymounting a filler sleeve or adapter onto a carton prior to commencingthe feeding of tow into the carton.'The filler sleeve is generally thesame size as the carton and extends the vertical walls of the cartonupwards thus enabling the tow to be laid in the carton and the fillersleeve. The carton and filler sleeve is then located under a press andthe tow compressed to till only the carton. The filler sleeve is thenremoved and the carton closed to retain the compressed tow.

Many types of filler sleeves presently in use have certain problems.Some filler sleeves are made from light weight materials, such as glassfibers. Sleeves made from these materials are easy to handle, but aresusceptible to damage with continuous manual handling. Furthermore,several of these light weight adapters are needed for each tow fillingline, one adapter required for a carton being filled at a tow fillingstation, a second adapter required for a carton at a pressing stationand several more adapters required as standbys. These light weightfilling sleeves, while easy to handle are prone to damage if centeredimproperly under a tow press. The tow press can cause crushing orbreaking of the walls of the filler sleeve, thus either extensiverepairs of' the filler sleeves are required or the sleeves must bereplaced to maintain serviceable units in a tow filling line.

lt is an object of the present invention to provide a novel fillersleeve for use with an apparatus for packaging tow in cartons.

lt is another object of this invention to provide a strong filler sleevefor use in an apparatus f'or packaging tow in cartons that is not easilysusceptible to damage in its operation.

lt is still another object of this invention to provide a filler sleevefor use in a filling line for packaging tow in cartons in which only onefiller sleeve is required per failing une.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With these and other objects in view, thepresent invention provides in an apparatus for packaging tow in cartonsincluding a tow feeding and directing means, a means for reciprocating acarton at a tow filling station in cooperation with the tow feeding anddirecting means adapted to lay the tow in a predetermined pattern in thecarton, a press means at a pressing station adapted to compress the towin a carton and a conveyor means adapted to move cartons from the towfill ing station to the pressing station. The improvement comprises afiller sleeve having four sides adapted to form a vertical extension ofa carton, fiexible locating means adapted to hold the filler :sleeve toa carton while the carton reciprocates at the tow filling station, movable supporting means for the filler sleeve adapted to support thefiller sleeve at a predetermined height and allow the sleeve to be movedtoandf`ro between the tow filling station and the pressing station, atleast one side of the filler sleeve adjacent to the pressing stationhaving at least one hinge and means to open and close the side ofthefiller sleeve together with a catch means adapted to hold the sideclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The drawing which illustrates anembodiment of the invention shows a perspective view of a filler sleevelocated over a carton which rests: on a conveyor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawing, a carton 10 is shown resting on a roller conveyor ll. Above thecarton and located to it is a filler sleeve 12. The filler sleeve 12 hasa flared entrance 13 at its top and four sides 14 which form a verticalextension of the four sides of the carlton l0. The side of the fillersleeve l2 adjacent to one of the directions of travel of the conveyor 11has two doors 15. The doors 15 have upper hinges 16 connected to anupper fiange 17 of the filler sleeve 12 and lower hinges 18 connected toa lower flange 19.

The doors l5 are held closed by a catch 20 which is operated by apneumatic cylinder 2l. A connecting rod 22 is attached to each door 15:at a pin connection 23. This pin connection 23 is inboard of the axisthrough the upper hinge 16 and the lower hinge 18 on each door. Theother end of the connecting bar 22 is pin connected to a lever arm 24which has one end pivoted at a pivot point 425 and the other endconnected to a piston 25 of pneumatic cylinder 27. Thus, when compressedair is supplied to the pneumatic cylinder 27, the piston 26 moves inwardpushing the connecting arm 22 against the door 1S and thus opening thedoor. Connected to the lower flange 19 on the bottom of the doors l5 aretwo front locators 28, one per door. Attached to the flange 19 on theside of the filler sleeve l2 opposite to the side with the opening doorsl5 is a back locator (not shown). The vback locator has a handle whichallows the back locator to be lifted to clear the carton and thusrelease the carton from the filler sleeve l2. The front locators 28 andthe back locator (not shown) hold the carton l0 to the filler sleeve l2while being reciprocated during filling.

Two brackets 29 are attached to the upper Harige 17 on the two sidesparallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor are connected torollers 30 which sit in tracks 31. The tracks 3l run parallel to thedirection of travel of the conveyor 11, and support the filler sleeve l2at a height such that the bottom of the filler sleeve 12 is just clearofthe top of the carton 10.

A transfer tail access hole 32 is located in one side of the fillersleeve l2. This hole is used for capturing an end of tow for a transfertail when commencing to fill a carton with tow. A spout 33 is shownabove the filler sleeve for feeding tow into the carton. The spout 33oscillates in the plane indicated by the arrow which is at right anglesto the reciprocating motion of the carton. The spout oscillates about linch above the top of the flared entrance 13 of the filler sleeve l2.

A reciprocating device bracket 34 moves the sleeve backwards andforwards in cooperation with the oscillating spout 33. An arm 3S isshown connected to the bracket 34 by a hinge 36. This arm 35 is notessential to the operation. The arm 35 may be raised to move the cartonto a different location on the conveyor 11. A vertical member 37 isattached to the bracket 34, and has a spring latch 38 at the top thereofwhich connects with a mating hole or catch in the lower flange 19. Thespring latch 36 connects the filler sleeve l2 with the reciprocatingdevice bracket 34. The spring latch 36 and the vertical member 37 may belocated at a corner of the filler sleeve away from the doors 15.

As a further embodiment, an extension rod may be added extending acrossone side of the filler sleeve 12 at the level of the lower flange 19.The extension rod has a release knob on the opposing side to the springlatch 38 side, thus allowing the spring latch 38 to be released withoutan operator having to cross the conveyor 11.

In operation, an empty carton l is placed on the conveyor 1l and movedto a tow filling station. The carton is moved on the conveyor until itrests against the arm 35 of the reciprocating device bracket 34. Thisarm 35 acts only as a positioning guide, and does not connect the cartonl2 to the reciprocating arm bracket 34. The arm is not essential and thefiller sleeve 12 is positioned over the center of the carton l0 andconnected to the reciprocating arm bracket 34 by the spring latch 38.This may be achieved by lifting the back locator (not shown) and pushingor pulling the filler sleeve 12 from the left hand side of the drawingover the carton. The back locator is then lowered, so that the carton islocated between the back locator and the two front locators 28 and alsoconnected to the reciprocating arm bracket 34. Tow is fed into thecarton from the spout 33 which reciprocates in a plane perpendicular tothe direction of travel of the conveyor l0. ln cases where a transfertail of tow is required, tow is fed through the spout 33 after thefiller sleeve l2 is positioned over the carton 10.

The end of the tow is captured manually through the access hole 32 as itis fed into the carton 10. The end of the tow is directed to hang overthe outside of the carton between the top edge of the carton and thebottom of the filler sleeve l2. As the tow is fed into the carton thespout 33 reciprocates in one direction and the carton l2 reciprocates ina perpendicular direction, the movement of the spout 33 and carton l2being so arranged that the tow is laid in a predetermined pattern tofill the carton l2.

The amount of tow that is fed into a carton is metered either accordingto weight or according to length which in turn depends upon the feedspeed and time. When sufficient tow has been metered into the carton, itgenerally comes three-quarters of the way up the side of the fillersleeve. The tow feed is stopped, latch 38 is released, the arm 35 raisedif'it has been used and the carton l0 and filler sleeve l2 are pushed orpulled on the conveyor 1l in a direction to the left hand side of thedrawing and located under a pressing station. Such a station may take anumber of different forms, but does not form part of the presentinvention. A press having a pad which corresponds to the cross sectionof the filler sleeve 12 compresses the tow so that it fits in the cartonl0. Then, with the press pad still compressing the tow, the catch 20 onthe doors 15 of the filler sleeve l2 is opened by supplying compressedair to the pneumatic cylinder 2l and the doors l5 are opened bysupplying compressed air to the pneumatic cylinder 27. With the doors l5of the filler sleeve 12 in the open position, the filler sleeve l2 ispushed or pulled towards the filling station. The shaft of the pressdoes not hinder the movement of the filler sleeve 12 as the doors are inthe open position. The compressed carton of tow at the pressing stationmay be strapped or bundled up, the press pad raised, and the full cartonmoved to shipping or storage.

The doors l5 of the filler sleeve l2 are closed and latched by the catch20 and the filler sleeve 12 pushed or pulled so that the rollers 30rotate in tracks 3l and bring the filler sleeve back to the tow fillingstation. At the tow filling station, the filler sleeve 12 is locatedover another carton by the front locators 28 and back locator (notshown), attached to the reciprocating arm bracket 34 by the spring latch38 and the tow feed is started to till a new carton.

The weight of the filler sleeve l2 is no longer a problem as it does nothave to be manually handled but moves on rollers 30 in tracks 3l.Therefore, the filler sleeve 12 may be made out of aluminum, steel, orsome other suitable material which is not damaged by the press when thetow is compressed. The preferable clearance between the bottom of thefiller sleeve l2 and the top of the carton 10 is approximately l inch.The front locators 28 and back locators (not shown) are preferably madefrom l/16 inch spring steel so that the filler sleeve moves slightlyrelative to the carton due to the flexibility of the spring steel. Thiscreates a shearing effect between the carton and the filler sleeve andcauses the tow to settle making room for a greater capacity of tow inthe carton. It has been found that it takes l5 seconds to doff a carton,that is to say from the time the two feed stops and one carton is fullto the time when the tow feed is started again to feed tow into a newcarton takes approximately l5 seconds.

What is claimed is:

1. ln an apparatus for packaging tow in cartons including a tow feedingand directing means, a means for reciprocating a carton at a tow fillingstation in cooperation with a tow feeding and directing means, adaptedto lay the tow in a predetermined pattern in the carton, a press meansat a pressing station adapted to compress the tow in a carton and aconveyor means adapted to move cartons from the tow filling station tothe pressing station, the improvement comprising a filler sleeve havingfour sides adapted to form a vertical extension of a carton, locatingmeans adapted to hold the filler sleeve to a carton while the cartonreciprocates at the tow filling station, movable supporting means forthe filler sleeve adapted to support the filler sleeve at apredetermined height and allow the sleeve to be moved to-andfro betweenthe tow filling station and the pressing station, at least one side ofthe filler sleeve adjacent the pressing station having at least onehinge and means to open and close the side of the filler sleeve togetherwith a catch means adapted to hold the side closed.

2. The improvement according to claim l, wherein the locating meansadapted to hold the filler sleeve to a carton comprises spring steelclips adapted to grip two sides of the carton, one of the clips beingremov able.

3. The improvement according to claim l, wherein the movable supportingmeans for the tiller sleeve comprises four rollers, two rollers onopposing sides of the tiller sleeve and attached to the Filler sleeve,the two rollers on opposing sides of the filler sleeve resting on twoparallel tracks. i

4. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the side of the fillersleeve adjacent to the pressing station comprises two doors with apneumatic opening and closing means and a pneumatic catch means.

5. A filler sleeve for guiding tow into an open top carton reciprocablymovable in a path on a conveyor at a filling station, said sleevecomprising two pair of opposed connected vertical sides forming anopening shaped complementally to the open top of the carton; movablesupport means connected to said sleeve for positioning said sleeve apredetermined height above said carton, one pair of opposed sides beingoriented in a plane perpendicular to the path of the conveyor, one ofsaid one pair of sides being hinged to an adjacent side; means connectedto said hinged side for opening and closing said hinged side of saidsleeve; and flexible means attached to said opposed sides adjacent saidcarton, engaging said carton, said flexible means permitting relativemovement between said carton and said sleeve.

6. The sleeve as dened in claim l, said flexible means comprising springclips attached to said one pair of opposed sides adjacent said carton,said clips extending downwardly engaging said carton,

* #lf li

1. In an apparatus for packaging tow in cartons including a tow feedingand directing means, a means for reciprocating a carton at a tow fillingstation in cooperation with a tow feeding and directing means, adaptedto lay the tow in a predetermined pattern in the carton, a press meansat a pressing station adapted to compress the tow in a carton and aconveyor means adapted to move cartons from the tow filling station tothe pressing station, the improvement comprising a filler sleeve havingfour sides adapted to form a vertical extension of a carton, locatingmeans adapted to hold the filler sleeve to a carton while the cartonreciprocates at the tow filling station, movable supporting means forthe filler sleeve adapted to support the filler sleeve at apredetermined height and allow the sleeve to be moved to-and-fro betweenthe tow filling station and the pressing station, at least one side ofthe filler sleeve adjacent the pressing station having at least onehinge and means to open and close the side of the filler sleeve togetherwith a catch means adapted to hold the side closed.
 2. The improvementaccording to claim 1, wherein the locating means adapted to hold thefiller sleeve to a carton comprises spring steel clips adapted to griptwo sides of the carton, one of the clips being removable.
 3. Theimprovement according to claim 1, wherein the movable supporting meansfor the filler sleeve comprises four rollers, two rollers on opposingsides of the filler sleeve and attached to the filler sleeve, the tworollers on opposing sides of the filler sleeve resting on two paralleltracks.
 4. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the side of thefiller sleeve adjacent to the pressing station comprises two doors witha pneumatic opening and closing means and a pneumatic catch means.
 5. Afiller sleeve for guiding tow into an open top carton reciprocablymovable in a path on a conveyor at a filling station, said sleevecomprising two pair of opposed connecTed vertical sides forming anopening shaped complementally to the open top of the carton; movablesupport means connected to said sleeve for positioning said sleeve apredetermined height above said carton, one pair of opposed sides beingoriented in a plane perpendicular to the path of the conveyor, one ofsaid one pair of sides being hinged to an adjacent side; means connectedto said hinged side for opening and closing said hinged side of saidsleeve; and flexible means attached to said opposed sides adjacent saidcarton, engaging said carton, said flexible means permitting relativemovement between said carton and said sleeve.
 6. The sleeve as definedin claim 1, said flexible means comprising spring clips attached to saidone pair of opposed sides adjacent said carton, said clips extendingdownwardly engaging said carton.